Michigan State Police not riding Harleys???

Otto Maddox wrote:

93EXCivic wrote:

Otto Maddox wrote: At some point, doesn't Harley have to change the design?

Why? Morgan hasn't which is why I want a Morgan.

They could keep the look. It is the ancient engine that needs replacing. Does it have any redeeming qualities other than making potato noises? Morgan has changed a lot of things over the years. They have kept a theme. Kind of like Porsche - a 911 is still instantly recognizable as a 911, but they improved the engineering over time, even made very major changes.

have you looked at the engine in the vrod? Still a v twin, but ohc and watercooled and makes good power (123hp)

"At the heart of it is Harley’s liquid-cooled 1250cc Revolution-series V-Twin engine. This fuel-injected power plant was designed by Porsche so it goes without saying that this motorcycle has some get up and go. It features double overhead camshafts and dual four-valve cylinder heads "

In reply to Cotton:

Yeah, that engine is sweet. That proves they can do it. But I've never seen one around here. In my neighborhood, the bad-assed (on Sunday) doctors and lawyers have the loud potato engine.

Liquid cooled heads are coming; it's the only way that they will meet EPA requirements. My guess is that it might be next year. The patent was published in 6/2011.

http://www.chaosnation.net/blogs/6/49/harley-davidson-water-cooled-hea

Liquid cooled heads. How 1980's. And the government forced them into it with emissions regulations.

That's right.

Unless I miss my guess, that's a cast in tube which wraps around the exhaust port only?

Curmudgeon wrote: Unless I miss my guess, that's a cast in tube which wraps around the exhaust port only?

Really?? Shirly you can't be serious.
That's hilarious. That'd be like Jeep putting Lincoln Lockers in the Rubicon instead of a well-engineered diff.

My problem with Harley comes from being stuck behind Harley's on the dragon. Every other make will get out of your way if you come up behind them. Sport bikes, bmws, anything. But not Harley's.

Joey

Back on original topic....I saw a Michigan State Police Bike this morning....yes, a BMW.

Grtechguy wrote: Back on original topic....I saw a Michigan State Police Bike this morning....yes, a BMW.

How'd it look? I ask because some cars just look bad-A as a cop car. I've only seen H-D cop bikes so I'm curious.

SC Highway patrol version:

http://www.policemotorunits.com/id101.html

It seems they are being replaced with Honda ST1300's. I guess it's because they have to hang so much crap on it, but to me the bike looks really porky.

DrBoost wrote:

Grtechguy wrote: Back on original topic....I saw a Michigan State Police Bike this morning....yes, a BMW.

How'd it look? I ask because some cars just look bad-A as a cop car. I've only seen H-D cop bikes so I'm curious.

Exactly like what jrw1621 posted... Lots of flashing blues & reds. No...wasn't me pulled over.

I have been thinking about this, and while I still support the decision, I see more reasons in the Harley camp. I mean, think about the real use for Police Motorcycles: threading through traffic. Everything else, especially in Michigan, is done better in a car. There are times when you pull over speeders,sure, but any motorcycle will be faster than a P71 in that regard. Cops don't use massive speed anyway, they use the radio. If speed were the point, the Huyabusa is less than either option.

So the other big use is for parades and crowd control. Places like parks where the Po Po have to ride along the sidewalk for example. The Pittsburgh Police for instance have some really big dudes in jack boots that ride Harleys and work parades, marathons, protests, etc. They have a certain intimidation factor that the Harley accentuates. A BMW and an Aerostitch uniform would diminish the effect. I think the parade comment is less of an insult than I originally thought.

So Michigan went with BMW because they are better at catching up to and overtaking speeders. So the take away here is don't speed in Michigan in the summer, but get as rowdy as you want at the next outdoor public concert.

Intimidating.

Less so.

Oh please.

Off topic.

Nope, none of the above. Now HERE is intimidation:

I don;t care what it looks like.. if it has "police" on it, flashing lights, and a guy with a gun on it... it's intimidating

Saw a cop on a Rukus in downtown Nashville......wtf

pinchvalve wrote: Intimidating.

That is Willie G. Davidson with the Milwaukee Police Motorcycle Corps...taken at the H-D Museum in Milwaukee. All of the MPD bikes are sold and serviced at the dealership that I work for.

pinchvalve wrote: The Pittsburgh Police for instance have some really big dudes in jack boots that ride Harleys and work parades, marathons, protests, etc. They have a certain intimidation factor that the Harley accentuates. A BMW and an Aerostitch uniform would diminish the effect. I think the parade comment is less of an insult than I originally thought.

If intimidation is the point, shouldn't they be riding Speed Triples or V-Max?

Not a big fan of police vehicles (or fashion) being chosen for intimidation factor.

Seems like a lousy way to start 99% of an officer's interactions.

Though it makes me chuckle by reminding me of a description of an ad campaign from a couple of years ago: "Dodge: for people who only use the black and red crayons"

Mitchell wrote: If Harleys were produced somewhere else, I doubt that I would be concerned. I just see the last representative of American built motorcycles, and they don't just don't stack up with the rest of the world on so many levels. The next few years may look promising, but what about ten to twenty years from now? At what point will they become more of a marketing company than a manufacturing company?

They already have become a marketing company......all the clothing and merchandise is probably the biggest reason the company didn't go the way of Indian(which are still better )

Edit: EL OH FAWKING EL Ransom

DrBoost wrote: How'd it look? I ask because some cars just look bad-A as a cop car. I've only seen H-D cop bikes so I'm curious.

I haven't seen a cop on an HD since the early 80's around here. In Oregon they switched to the good ol' Kawasaki police 1000 in the late 70's and stuck with those until they moved to BMW's in the late 90's.

Which is why this whole thread is a bit puzzling to me. I just figured most police forces abandoned them 30 years ago. I never saw Ponch and John on any Harleys either.

HD suffers from form over function. The "lifestyle" is more important than the technology and that is what HD has been betting the farm on every year and coming out good on the other side. With that said, I will probably own one, one day. But it will probably be after already having a BMW GS.

I have a couple of friends that ride HDs and it seems funny to me that they bash Sportsters and call them girl bikes. I don't think there was anything girly about Evel Knievel. Lets see him do those jumps with a Street Glide.